Coexistence of bipolar and unipolar resistive switching behaviors in the double-layer Ag/ZnS-Ag/CuAlO2/Pt memory device

The coexistence of uniform bipolar and unipolar resistive-switching (RS) characteristics was demonstrated in a double-layer AggnS-Ag/CuAlO2/Pt memory device. By changing the compliance current (CC) from 1 mA to 10 mA, the RS behavior can be converted from the bipolar mode (BRS) to the unipolar mode (URS). The temperature dependence of low resistance states further indicates that the CFs are composed of the Ag atoms and Cu vacancies for the BRS mode and URS mode, respectively. For this double-layer structure device, the thicker conducting filaments (CFs) will be formed in the ZnS-Ag layer, and it can act as tip electrodes. Thus, the formation and rupture of these two different CFs are located in the CuAlO2 layer, realizing the uniform and stable BRS and URS. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.